My essential question for senior project started off as: How can portrait photography be used to tell stories of individual identity within the context of group dynamics? Over time, however, I soon realized that that initial question didn’t work to encapsulate all of the other aspects of my project. Not only was it too specific, but it also didn’t give me much legroom to expand my thinking beyond the scope of the photography portion of my project. There was so much that I was photographing in my internships, but my essential question was too focused on the technical aspects, rather than the identity and meaning I was capturing throughout all portions of my project. I soon realized that the photos that stood out the most weren’t the ones with the best lighting or composition, but rather the ones that told the best stories. 

I started to make each photograph I took incredibly purposeful using the idea of place. I knew that the setting held just as much meaning in the photographs as the people that filled them, so instead of blank walls or colored backdrops, I had every group choose locations that felt meaningful to them. I wanted the photos to feel as least forced as possible and I knew that they wouldn’t if each group was photographed in places that felt comfortable and safe for all of them. Using this intentionality, the photos became not just cute group portraits, but also windows into each and every one of their stories. I incorporated this idea into the photos I was taking at my internship as well, learning how to make any photo, regardless of what it may be, have a greater purpose and tell a larger story. Whether it’s in a posed group portrait or a photo of someone’s clothing on a sales rack, photography reveals so much about one’s identity and the ways in which they express themselves and the things they value. 

On senior project night, my goal is not to impress people with the technique of my gallery, but rather to make those around me feel something from my photographs, to recognize the identity, connections, and places that shape us all.